Useless Thoughts
by Lykaios Garou
Summary: Takes place after Dally leaves the drive-in. Cherry Valance irritates him in ways you can't imagine and yet she keeps finding her way into his thoughts. Not as fluffy as you'd think. Basically the Outsiders from Dally's side First story here. R
1. Stuck in His Head

**Author's Note:** I don't own The Outsiders, though I wish I did. The only thing I own is the story and Jess the bartender girl. She's such a twit. I love her though, silly thing. I'd also like to note that I don't really think the Dallas/Cherry thing would work out. Cherry's all concerned and what not about her image and Dallas is well Dallas. However I will admit there's a strange lust/attraction thing going on there. Dallas must have found her attractive or he wouldn't have tried to pick her up. That wouldn't make sense now would it. And then there's the whole Cherry "If I ever see him again…" thing but whatever. Also, I haven't read the book or seen the movie in a bit so some details might be off, but that's because my memories a bit faulty so some minor details might not be there. Do forgive me if something is horribly wrong and tell me how to fix it. Now, onto the story!! Finally, right?

"Stupid broad," Dallas growled under his breath as he left the movies. "Who the fuck does she think she is acting all high and mighty like that. Shoulda expected that from a soc," he grimaced using his hand to try and wipe off some coke from his face. It was starting to dry and the sticky feeling was uncomfortable. The soc Dallas had been grumbling about, Cherry Valance, had only a minute or two ago splashed his face with the cold drink. "That's what you get for tryin' to be nice." The young man looked out at the street ahead of him. He had no where to go. Then his mind turned on him. _That red head sure was cute though_, one half of his brain reminded him, and Dallas was not about to deny that bit. For a few moments Dally allowed himself to remember the fiery red-head. Soon however he had to mentally slap himself. _Get that broad out of your head you idiot_, the other side of his brain snapped. _Red's just another girl._ _Nothing worth wasting any more thought on than any other failed attempt at getting some action. _Dallas kept walking trying to keep his mind busy and on other, more important, things like what law he could possibly break that he hadn't already.

His feet unconsciously took him to the convenience store. He might have stolen something, but some how it didn't seem worth it. All he wanted now was a smoke. Walking over to the side of the store Dally pulled out and lit himself a cigarette. Again his mind began to drift as he leaned up against the wall. _She was kind cute though…I wonder if she liked me. You know maybe…Stop it! You're Dallas Winston. You don't think about this kind of crap. You feel nothing. You're just a no good hood, and you show no signs of changing._ Dallas was so distracted by his own internal moral debate that he hardly noticed the cigarette was starting to burn past the filter.

"Ah SHIT!" Dally cursed as soon as he noticed and removed the burning butt from his mouth. Irritated, he stomped it out on the pavement. "All I need is some sleep," Dally said keeping his thoughts aloud instead of in his head hoping to bring his head back to more pressing matters like where he was going to go. He reached into his back pocket for his pack of cigarettes, but there were none left. With a grunt he threw the empty pack on the ground. "Sleep and cancer sticks." Dallas paused for a quick second to mull things over. "Buck's place. That's where I can go," he finally decided. "Sleep, beer, and cigarettes. Perfect." He forced a grin, but it looked a bit lopsided. Then again most forced grins were.

Soon the building came in sight and from what he could here it was busy. He opened the door and was hit with a wall of noise that by now he was pretty used to. The greaser stepped casually over a man that had passed out on the floor to get to the bar. A brunette, female, bartender was there with a beer waiting for him. The young man made a face at the relatively happy looking girl. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun and a few wispy pieces fell on her forehead.

"Hey there, Dally," she grinned at the sour looking man and leaning on the bar. Dallas just gave her a quick nod before looking away. Truth be told he found the girl extremely annoying. She was always talking to him. "What's with you, Dal?" the girl continued, clearly not picking up on the hint that Dally had no intention of striking up conversation with her.

"Forget about it, Jess," Dally growled after taking a gulp of beer and staring down the bartender. "It's none of your business, nosey, anyway." Dallas hunched his shoulders and scowled again. Jess finally got the hint and scooted off to another man who was waiting at the bar. Before she was out of ear shot Dally said simply to her, "If you see Buck let him know I'm sleeping upstairs." The brunette nodded absent-mindedly and Dally knew she'd probably forget. It was a good thing he didn't care much. Before leaving the bar Dallas swiped another beer from a man distracted by one of the hookers.

"Sucker," he grinned heading for the stairs. He was half way up when he remembered that he was still missing one crucial thing. Cigarettes. He headed down the stairs quickly and bought two packs. As he turned to go back up he noticed a familiar face in the crowd. It was Sylvia, and Dally wanted nothing to do with the two-timing bitch. She'd cheated on him while he was in jail. However, she managed to spot him before he could make a safe retreat up the stairs.

"Dallas! That you?" she asked feigning sweetness. Dallas wrinkled his nose and thought he might have lost his lunch. Sylvia was one tuff and tough girl. She swore. She drunk. She was certainly more Dally's type then the red-headed soc Cherry Valance. For a second Dallas compared the two; in looks at least. At the time Cherry seemed much more appealing, but then again that could have just been his anger at Sylvia cheating on him talking.

"And what if it is?" he answered coldly.

"Oh, tough guy eh?" Sylvia grinned and leaned forward to give him a kiss. Dally physically pushed her back. "What'd ya do that for?" she frowned crossing her arms over her chest.

"What are you trying to pull?" Dally sneered.

"Jus' trying to give you a kiss, babe," Sylvia pouted dramatically. Dally resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She just didn't know when to quit did she?

"Don't you try and pull that bull shit on me ya two-timing broad." Dally's eyes were hard and cold as he looked down on the girl. "You thought I wouldn't find out. Trying to act like nothing happened. If you're gonna cheat on me in jail I want nothing to do with you. I may be a greasy hood, but I don't want trash like you. Have a nice night blondy." The last bit was said with emphasized spite. Dallas turned away before he could see the look on Sylvia's face. He didn't need to see it because he already had a good idea. The shocked and hurt expression he conjured up in his mind caused him to grin widely. He tried not to laugh too loudly. "Broad had it coming," he said to himself once up the stairs at last. He walked into the first room and set his two beers on a chair and pulled a pack of new cigarettes from his pocket. The room wasn't much but it was enough. There was a bed and that was all Dally needed. The other pieces of furniture Dallas could have cared less about.

He threw off his jacket and flopped ungracefully onto the bed. It creaked loudly under the sudden weight added to it. Dallas lit up a smoke as stared blankly up at the ceiling for a bit. His victorious smirk had faded slightly. He couldn't think of anymore available girls now besides the prostitute downstairs and possibly in the other rooms from what he could hear. _You must really not want to get laid tonight do you? _His small voice of reason chimed in bring back imaged of the Valance girl. Dallas had really hoped he'd hooked up with that one if only for one night.

"Dammit, Red," he cursed at the ceiling and it gave no response. Dallas was quite frustrated now with his fixation on Cherry Valance. What was it about this Cherry girl that was making it hard for him to forget? Was it her hair? Her eyes? Her ass? Maybe. Then again it might have just been her personality. Fiery. Yeah, that was it, though her looks certainly helped. Still not pleased with his own rationalization of the situation Dallas put out his cigarette against the wall and flicked it onto the ground. He rolled over so he was facing the gray wall that now had a small burn. On the other side he could hear the sounds of what he had planned on getting that night. "Women," he scoffed clenching his eyes closed and trying to tune out the noise, "Who needs 'em anyway?"


	2. Itching For a Fight

**Author's Note:** Finally got around to writing again. Summer time makes me lazy. Sorry. I don't own the Outsiders and all that good stuff. Except Jess. Jess is mine. I'm working on the next chapter. It should be quite a bit longer hopefully. Well, R&R please.

Dally tossed and turned on the uncomfortable, old, mattress. His whole body was itching for him to get up and move around instead of just lying there. His mind, however was giving a convincing argument to just stay in the room and sleep. His pride was still hurting from the fact that Cherry hated his guts and that he couldn't make himself not care. She wasn't the only one he was thinking about though. Johnny had been the one to call him off. No one could call Dallas off of anything, but Johnny could. Dallas finally admitted that Cherry and Johnny were the only two people in the world who could make him feel even the slightest bit. He didn't know if he hated them or liked them for that. Maybe Cherry because she was just a real sharp looking girl, at least that's what Dally thought. He wouldn't tell anyone though. It would ruin his reputation. Then there was Johnny…Dallas rolled over onto his back and closed his eyes. Well, Johnny was different. Johnny looked up to Dally, and Dally looked out for Johnny. If anything ever happened to that kid it was Dallas' duty to do something about it. If anything happened to Johnny, Dallas would never be able to forgive himself.

Finally, he could take it no longer. He had to get out of there. He had to move. He had to run. He had to find a place where there was no time to think about these things. Thinking about them never helped anything. Grabbing his leather jacket, Dally practically ran down the stairs. The place was really starting to get packed now and he almost knocked someone over. Jess waved quickly in his direction before he headed out the door, not even taking the time to acknowledge her. Maybe she would finally realize Dallas had no real interest with her. _You still could have slept with her. Better her than not at all._ Dallas let the quick thought run around his mind a few times. _Naw_, he concluded, _a girl like her would think it "meant something". I don't want a clingy broad like that hangin' around me all the time_.

"I wonder if Red would have been clingy…"Dally bit his tongue when he realized he'd said that last part out loud. Luckily for his reputation no one was around to hear him. No one ever had to know that he'd even thought such a thing. He walked faster hoping to just leave the thought behind him. He wasn't sure of the exact time, but Dallas' internal clock told him it was probably around 1 o'clock in the morning.

Only a few cars were still on the roads and Dally watched some pass him by as he walked along the side walk. He pulled out the pack of cigarettes and lit himself one, and the embers glowed in the dark. Finally, Dallas found a streetlamp at the end of the block. He leaned up against it casually and took a few more drags on his cigarette. Dallas heard a separate set of footsteps coming toward him. He didn't flinch. He knew those foot steps and they belonged to the very person he'd been looking for.

"Glory, well if it ain't Tim Shepard," he sneered looking up at the furious looking other. Dally crossed his arms coolly. "What're you doing out this late? Isn't it past your bedtime." he added with a laugh.

"Lookin' fer you," Tim growled clenching his fists. "You slashed my tires, ya bastard." Dallas could see the fight in Tim's eyes and could only grin. Tim was so easy to irritate, and he found it hilarious to watch his temper flair.

"You don't say," Dally cocked an eyebrow and smirked. He knew he was pushing Tim and that a fight was inevitable. It was just the thing he needed to get his mind off of other matters. Besides, picking fights was Dally's specialty and there's nothing like practice to sharpen one's skills.

"Don't give me that shit," Tim grimaced taking a step towards Dallas. "I know it was you, and you're just asking for me to punch your face in." He took another menacing step forward, but Dallas did not move. He sauntered casually over and took a long drag on his cigarette. He leaned so he was face to face with the other boy and blew a large cloud of smoke in his face with a confident grin. Tim wrinkled his face snorting.

With a sharp smirk Dally replied, "Yeah, I'd say I am." That was the breaking point. Dallas felt Tim's fist collide with his ribs painfully. He also felt some of the ribs crack painfully. The fight was on and Dally couldn't be more pleased as he threw a few punches of his own catching Tim in the jaw once. The two were fairly evenly matched as they tussled under the cold light of the lamppost. It was their own personal rumble. No weapons. Just fists, but damn fists could be painful. Eventually, the two backed off each other glaring at each other and looking quite battered. Tim spit out some blood and rubbed his jaw. Also, he was keeping weight off his left leg, but the energy that he'd had before was slightly diminished.

"You better not try any more stupid shit on my car," Tim cursed spitting again. "Or next time I won't let you live."

"You're too kind," Dally mumbled rubbing his sore side. With another defiant snort Tim started to leave, limping a bit. There was nothing more to be said. The fight was over and the energy gone. Dally watched him go with a grin. The feeling of the adrenaline rush was still lingering, and the thought of a little red-headed soc was in the back of his mind. All was going just as he'd planned. Once Tim was out of sight he turned and headed back toward Buck's place. The uncomfortable bed seemed strangely temping now. He shuffled his feet on the pavement still keeping his thoughts preoccupied with the recent fight. He made his way back, not in record time, but he was back. He could hear the music again and it was a welcome change to the ringing in his ears. Dallas opened the door slowly so not to draw attention to himself. He simply wanted to slip up the stairs and lay down which he thought was perfectly reasonable.

Dally maneuvered through the crowd keeping his arm over his ribs protectively. The last thing he wanted was some drunk bumping into him. Just then a familiar voice called his name. _Oh no…_he frowned. It was Jess. He had sorely wanted to pass by without her noticing.

"Dally, what'd you get yourself into?" she said patronizingly. Dally hated it when she got like that. It made him feel like such a little kid, and he hated little kids. "And you got a black eye! Dally, can't you stay out of trouble for once?" Jess sighed crossing her arms behind the bar.

"No," the young man retorted dryly trying again to get to the stairs, but Jess was not through yet.

"Sometimes I really wish you would learn," she frowned shaking her head disapprovingly.

Dallas rolled his eyes. "Who do ya think you are? My mom?" he said reproachfully. "I'm going upstairs to sleep. Don't let anyone bother me. Can you do that much?" Jess nodded still frowning. Dally headed up the stairs and retreated quickly to the room and closed the door to block out the noise. He flopped down on the bed only to not feel his muscles relax but tense up as pain ripped through his side. He bit his lip as he rubbed his said again.

"Fucking ribs," he cursed sitting up. He took off his jacket and shirt carefully hoping not to mess with his already throbbing torso. Dallas placed a hand carefully on his side feeling the bones underneath shift ever so slightly. Yes, they were definitely cracked.

"1…2…3. 3 cracked ribs. Shit, Shepard was just as pissed as he sounded." Dally counted the bones carefully before lying down, more carefully this time on his other side. He was just going to have to be careful until they healed. He still rubbed them as he tried to get comfortable, but his side refused to stop hurting. As he laid there rubbing his side his thought began to wander again and Cherry once again moved into his thought. _No, no, no. I told you not to think about that stupid broad,_ his mind protested. Dallas clenched his eyes shut and tried to think of nothing but to no avail. He could still picture the red-head clearly in his mind. As a last effort he pressed his ribs and felt the pain hit him again just as quickly as before. "Pain," he frowned, "No better distraction than pain. How could I think about what's-her-name with three cracked ribs and a black eye." He said out loud trying o convince himself that there was nothing for him to be concerned about. This girl was not getting to him, and he certainly could just forget about her whenever he felt like it. Once the pain subsided Dallas felt himself starting to fall asleep. _Finally_, his tired mind sighed as he drifted into sleep. If he knew what was in store he would not have slept so soundly.


End file.
